I think VR will be marketed to PR stuff, amusement parks, training programs and of course YT, as far as it taking over theater and primetime TV, I won't live to see it. If people gawk at putting on shades to watch a movie, those goggles will surely be over the top and as difficult as it is to get directors to shoot in native 3D, can you imagine how they would react to 360 shooting? Sure, there might be that one James Cameron that will do it, but it will be far, far niche than 3D.

Well.... Today the Worlds very first VR Cinema opened it's doors... Right here in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. Anyways, I will go next week and do a review right here. . . It is by far not the same as "taking over theatres" but.... I can vividly remember people stating that professional photographers would never (and I repeat: "never") exchange their film camera's for digital camera's simply because digital capturing technology would not be able to reach a high enough level of resolution. And those guys saying that were professionals... And how long ago exactly was this? Less than 2 decades! I mean, only 1 decade ago our televisions had the size of an average refrigerator and you needed to be with two adults to even move these things. Nowadays they are as thick as a sandwich, have tenfold or higher resolution and you get to see what you want when you want it, without even a recorder attached. Science Fiction only a decade ago.... Reality in quite a lot of households today. I think you'll be surprised as to who many amazing technological developments you get to witness in your life time...

Well.... Today the Worlds very first VR Cinema opened it's doors... Right here in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. Anyways, I will go next week and do a review right here. . . It is by far not the same as "taking over theatres" but.... I can vividly remember people stating that professional photographers would never (and I repeat: "never") exchange their film camera's for digital camera's simply because digital capturing technology would not be able to reach a high enough level of resolution. And those guys saying that were professionals... And how long ago exactly was this? Less than 2 decades! I mean, only 1 decade ago our televisions had the size of an average refrigerator and you needed to be with two adults to even move these things. Nowadays they are as thick as a sandwich, have tenfold or higher resolution and you get to see what you want when you want it, without even a recorder attached. Science Fiction only a decade ago.... Reality in quite a lot of households today. I think you'll be surprised as to who many amazing technological developments you get to witness in your life time...

Just my two cents..

Film to digital is hardly a comparable analogy. The result is ultimately the same viewing experience. With 3D and even more with VR, you're asking the viewer to change what they're used to. 3D had a big following after Avatar, then interest dwindled, HFR was rolled out, just about everyone thought it had a negative impact on the movie, for movies and TV, VR will have the toughest hill to climb. It's not going away, but I don't look for movies or TV to change any time soon.

The problem is, for movies and TV, we're used to what works. Really, not much has changed over the past 60 years with film as far as how we view it. There's technical changes, but we still view it the same way. Traditional movies will be around a long time.

With VR, it's a different concept, you're more involved than just a viewer. For movies, we're used to looking ahead and watching a rectangle. Having to turn your head around all over the place and use interactive controls, it will have its place. For entertainment I'm picturing something like an arcade center in the mall or theme parks and for commercial use, specialized flight simulators and training.

My comparison film camera vs digital was not intended in the technical sence, more in a sence as to how difficult it is to predict technical developments and what the impact on the public is going to be. 30 years ago experts predicted home computers would only have a limited interest with the public. As to how we watch TV: untill not too long ago one had to consult a TV guide, shows were presented on a linear scale. Now Video On Demand services have changed that. E.g. I missed Homeland entirely, thanks to Netflix I can see the whole series in a row.

I expect more fom the Oculus than I did from 3D TV's. Yes, you need to put on glasses. But the 3D sensation, even when the viewing point is fixed to "straight ahead" will be overwhelming. I believe Oculus can mean the same fore "portable 3D movie's" as the Sony Walkman did for music (there was no such thing as real portable HiFi stereo listening equipment up untill Sony introduced the Walkman! iPad took that portable music experience to the next level. I might be wrong here, but I see myself enjoying 3D Blockbusters in my hotel room when I'm on the road for work. And I guess I wont be unique..

I have been using a TD10 for many years and I am very pleased with it. I am however worried that I might need to replace it or it could get stolen. It now appears that there are no 3d camcorders being produce even semi-profesional. Is there any hope that someone might produce a new 3D camera. I see blackmagic produce a 4k mini camera that is suitable for dual camera rig but it is still too bulky.

I have been using a TD10 for many years and I am very pleased with it. I am however worried that I might need to replace it or it could get stolen. It now appears that there are no 3d camcorders being produce even semi-profesional. Is there any hope that someone might produce a new 3D camera. I see blackmagic produce a 4k mini camera that is suitable for dual camera rig but it is still too bulky.

I wish I could say the near future looks bright for new 3D camcorders but, unfortunately, the odds of that happening are probably slim and none. My guess is 10 years, at least. Hope I'm wrong. Probably your best bet would be to go on Ebay and pick up a spare or two. I've bought extra JVC-TD1s this way. Ebay is quite good about making the sellers stand behind their claims if they say something is in excellent condition and it turns out not to be.

I see Amazon has the new Japanese version for sale of the TD20--same with ebay unless you get a used US version. You have to search Sony TD20 3D Camera to find them. I don't know how usable they are in the US or other English speaking countries, though. The problem is they do not support other languages than Japanese. So be careful to make sure you are getting a version that works for you. I think the menus are in the same order so you could create a cheat sheet from the camera you own now to navigate the menus.

I ended up with a 50hz / PAL (?) HDR-TD20V from Ebay. Is there any limitation on using content recorded on this camcorder on USA displays or projectors? It has been a while since I tried 3D playback on a computer setup with Nvidia 3D Vision but was never successful. I'm wondering now if the display rate has something to do with it?

Matt

UMR on HDR vs 4K: The benefit of greater saturation and luminance capability is...not very evident in all images unlike more pixels which can be seen in every scene.

Your TV or monitor would need to be able to handle 50hz. If a PC and monitor, then the PC graphics card would need to handle it as well. Otherwise you would have to post process it to 30/60hz or 24hz. But, depending your setup, that might be problematic as well.

I've read that you can use PowerDVD and set your monitor to 75hz or 100hz refresh and that actually works on US monitors. As PDVD converts to 25hz and 75hz is a multiple of 25hz. Most monitors will do this, but some at a different resolution. My monitor will do 25hz interlaced at 1920x1080. I doubt if you will have it work with a TV or projector, unless you can switch them to PAL--and some do, I think.

Your TV or monitor would need to be able to handle 50hz. If a PC and monitor, then the PC graphics card would need to handle it as well. Otherwise you would have to post process it to 30/60hz or 24hz. But, depending your setup, that might be problematic as well.

I've read that you can use PowerDVD and set your monitor to 75hz or 100hz refresh and that actually works on US monitors. As PDVD converts to 25hz and 75hz is a multiple of 25hz. Most monitors will do this, but some at a different resolution. My monitor will do 25hz interlaced at 1920x1080. I doubt if you will have it work with a TV or projector, unless you can switch them to PAL--and some do, I think.

Thanks. I wish there was a firmware tweak to fix this. By the time I decided to try to round one of these up I couldn't be too choosy on the specs, especially considering the listing did not note this limitation. I'll play with it some more when I get a chance.

Matt

UMR on HDR vs 4K: The benefit of greater saturation and luminance capability is...not very evident in all images unlike more pixels which can be seen in every scene.

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